Many of the cultural resources on USFWS lands help us understand long past, but some can also tell us about the recent past, specifically the history of the USFWS. This kind of 'personal' history is very important because it can help people understand where you came from and where you are going.

One of the more significant periods of USFWS history, and US History as well, is the Great Depression. It was important to USFWS for many reasons, but especially for the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The CCC was a 'make work' project under FDR's New Deal that put thousands of unemployed men to work. Much of that work involved creating natural areas and areas set aside for conservation. Many of these CCC camps and projects would later become the National Wildlife Refuges of today. Research on the CCC provided USFWS with information about where CCC camps were and whether there is anything left of them on the landscape.